Cause undetermined for transfer station fire

Updated 12:05 am, Thursday, May 9, 2013

SHELTON -- The cause of the fire at a transfer station on Oliver Terrace late Tuesday afternoon will probably remain undetermined, said Fire Marshal Jim Tortora.

"It could be any number of things" that started the smoky blaze in the building storing a pile of construction debris, he said. He said it could be anything from spontaneous combustion to having been started by accident.

But the fire isn't suspicious and was not intentionally set, Tortora said. The blaze, inside the 5,000-square-foot corrugated steel structure, was called in about 5:20 p.m., and firefighters remained on the scene until 1 a.m., he said.

The initial report was about a brush fire, but first responders determined it was actually a structure fire, so the call went out for more crews and equipment.

"The fire moved rather quickly," said Tortora. "It got pretty hot in there."

The transfer station is owned by Winters Bros. Waste Systems of Connecticut, which recently unveiled the company's new $15 million recycling plant, also on Oliver Terrace.

"At first we thought the fire might be at the plant," said Bill Brennan, the company's vice president of transfer and recycling. Brennan, who was at the scene Tuesday, said company officials were relieved to find out it was the transfer station.

He said an engineer was on site Wednesday morning and determined the building was still structurally sound, and said they intended to "resume operations there on a limited basis."

Brennan credits firefighters with their quick response for saving the structure.

"They were here in minutes," he said. "It would have been a total loss if they hadn't arrived so soon."

Brennan said he also has no idea how the fire started.

"The only thing I can think of is that there have been brush fires in the area," he said, and embers could have ignited the blaze through the building's open bays.

A ladder truck and four engines from Shelton and one from Derby responded to the scene.

Two firefighters suffered smoke inhalation, one heat exhaustion and another an elbow injury. They were all checked out and are OK, Tortora said.